Future uncertain for electrical appliances, electronics
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Exports of electrical appliances and electronics are expected to shrink by 5 per cent and 20-25 per cent, respectively, in value terms due mainly to the uncertain recovery of production and export markets, a recent report from the Electrical and Electroni
The report stated that the production volume and export outlook in the industries is uncertain as manufacturing has yet to fully recover from last year’s flood crisis. Normal operations may resume in either the second or the third quarter of this year.
EEI director Somboon Hotrakool had said earlier that the first half of this year was critical for the electrical appliance and electronics industries. Whether or not manufacturers end up leaving Thailand depends on the government’s water management and flood-prevention schemes, though both industries should show some positive signs in the second half, he said.
The combined export value of the electrical appliance and electronics industries during the first 11 months of 2011 was US$46.725 billion (Bt1.46 trillion), showing a slight increase of 1.53 per cent from the same period in the previous year. Exports started getting affected when severe floods arrived in mid-October. In that month alone, the export value dipped to $3.563 billion from $4.336 billion in 2010. Last November was even worse as the value plunged sharply to $2.802 billion compared with $4.553 billion in the same month the previous year.
The production index for both industries dropped by 12.47 per cent during that period.
The export value of electronic components from January to November last year shrunk by 3.56 per cent from the same period last year to $29.142 billion. The export outlook of this industry was bleak since early 2011 and it plunged sharply in October-November by 25 to 40 per cent. The production of computer hard drives, which are mainly manufactured in Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani, was badly hit due to severe inundation.
Orders from China, the largest market for electronic components from Thailand with an export value of $5.308 billion, dipped by 9.1 per cent from the same period of 2010, followed by Asean with the value of $4.724 billion, which showed a decrease of 0.74 per cent.
Meanwhile, the export value of the electrical appliances industry in the first 11 months of 2011 was $20.385 billion, showing an increase of 9.82 per cent from the same period in 2010 thanks to growth in most export markets with the exception of the US. The export of air conditioners went well in the EU despite financial problems in that region. Southeast Asia, as well as new destinations like Australia, provided good support for growth in the industry during that period.
Asean was the largest market for Thailand’s electrical appliances with orders worth $3.743 billion in the first 11 months of 2011, showing 8.18-per-cent growth, followed by China, which had export value of $1.58 billion, an increase of 23.78 per cent.
Flooding hit key manufacturing locations for electrical appliances and electronics components, which brought down the industries’ production output by 48.54 per cent during October and November.
